Rotting Whale Becomes Sad Spectacle In Malibu

MALIBU, Calif. (December 8, 2012)--With no government agency taking action to remove a rapidly rotting whale carcass from Little Dume beach, it appears that the job will be left to decomposition and nature's scavengers.

White bones, rolls of blubber and the tail flukes are all that remain of the fin whale and the smell has largely faded away.

The 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound juvenile male washed ashore Monday near Point Dume, which marks the western end of Santa Monica Bay, about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

The homes and estates of celebrities and other wealthy line the cliffs high above the slender beach.

Resident James Respondek is worried that the carcass would draw sharks that could pose a threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove and said he was frustrated that no agency would remove the carcass.

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